Source: For the Daily Courier
By Rachel Basinger
In less than one month, Jessie Morgan Fend and her husband, Josh, will be taking their 2-year-old son halfway around the world in the hope of having him see for the first time in his young life.
At the age of 6 months, Cody Fend was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH).
"His eye is fine, but the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain is only half there," said his mother, who is formerly of Scottdale. "He has some light sensory, but can't see anything else."
The couple felt something was wrong soon after Cody was born.
"As a baby he would not really focus on you, so we took him to a specialist who diagnosed him with ONH," Jessie Fend said.
After getting a second opinion from a specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, the couple asked what could be done to fix the problem, but no one seemed to have an answer, except for the possibility of stem-cell surgery in the future.
Some time later, family friends whose daughter also has ONH told the Fends of a possible stem-cell surgery that could allow the optic nerve to grow and give Cody sight, but that surgery was only being offered in China right now.
"When I first heard about it, I thought 'Oh my gosh, this is great,' but we were a little nervous about going to a foreign country, where we don't speak the language, and putting our child's fate in their hands," Jessie Fend said.
The couple did some research, however, and learned that the stem cells used in the surgery would be from umbilical cords and not aborted embryos or fetuses, so they made the decision to go.
Since November 2007, the family has been making every effort to raise about $60,000 to pay for the trip to China, their stay there for nearly a month, as well as the medical procedure itself. Their original goal was $50,000, but then they learned they needed more.
"We needed $60,000 and we're just about $5,000 from our goal and we still have some fundraisers in place," Jessie Fend said.
On April 27, a spaghetti dinner will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Brownsville Community Center in Lower Tyrone Township. Tickets are $6 and can be purchased at the door.
"That's my grandpap's (Robert Morgan Sr.) community center and he's really excited that they're able to do this," Jessie Fend said.
The dinner will include spaghetti, salad, drink and dessert. Fifty-fifty tickets will be sold and a Chinese auction will be held.
Another fundraiser in the works is a Longaberger Basket ticket. The tickets are $10 and have 31 numbers for the entire month of July. While most of the numbers will win a sole basket, there are six days throughout the month on which big baskets full of themed items, such as one with lottery tickets, will be part of the month-long raffle. Tickets are available at the following businesses in Scottdale: Mark IV, Fox's Pizza and Styles by Linda.
Also, all proceeds from the Louis V. Auer Memorial Golf Outing on June 29 at the Glengarry Golf Links in Latrobe will go toward the Fends' medical bills and needs.
"The Auer family holds an annual golf outing in memory of their grandparents, who died of cancer," Jessie Fend said. "They usually donate the proceeds to the American Cancer Society, but this year they're graciously giving all of the proceeds to Cody."
The cost is $75 per participant and is limited to 120 golfers. The fee includes breakfast, 18 holes of golf with a cart, a bucket of range balls, gadget hole prizes, lunch, drinks, dinner and a thank-you gift.
To register, contact Mary Auer at 724-366-7578. The registration deadline is May 31.
Jessie Fend is sure they will exceed their goal of $60,000 with all of the fundraisers still in the works. She added that any money over the goal will go toward the hyperbaric oxygen therapy Cody will have to undergo five days a week for a year when he comes home from China. The cost is about $20,000.
The family will arrive in Beijing on May 25. They will be in the country for four weeks before flying out on June 21.
"We've been doing so much fundraising and it seemed so far off, but now it's just a month away and it's hard to believe we're actually going," Jessie Fend said. "We're nervous and excited at the same time."
The city where the surgery will be done is Qing-Tao, which is about two hours from Beijing.
"We're excited about it being there (Qing-Tao), because it's along the coast and more tourist friendly," Jessie Fend said. "Patient representatives will help us communicate and get around and take us where we need to go."
She added that the trip would not be possible without the help of family, friends and even complete strangers.
"We've had youth groups and churches that we've never even attended help raise money for the surgery," Jessie Fend said. "We just can't thank everyone enough."
Cody's grandparents and great-grandparents are Shirley and Red Morgan, Marge and Bob Morgan and Chuck and Sally Lane of the Scottdale area; Donna and Gary Fend, Betsy Kerry and Pat Butler of the Butler area.
Anyone interested in donating to the family can do so by visiting any National City bank and donating in the name of Cody Fend or by mailing donations to: The Cody Fend Fund, P.O. Box 107, East Butler, PA 16029.
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